Various forms of ladders and ladder attachments heretofore have been provided to enable the upper end of an inclined ladder to frictionally engage and be more securely supported from an object against which the upper end of the ladder is leaned. However, many of these ladder attachments interfere with normal use of the ladder when the attachments are not to be used and are not particularly well adapted for use in various working environments. Accordingly, a need exists for an improved form of ladder attachment capable of frictionally gripping an object against which the associated ladder is leaned and constructed in a manner whereby the attachment may be held in a retracted position so as not to interfere with operation of the ladder when the need for such an attachment is non-existent.
Examples of various different forms of ladder supporting attachments including some of the general structural and operational features of the instant invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 480,160, 800,896, 1,015,123, 1,684,269, 3,476,212 and 3,603,431.